Didi’s dadagiri: Storms thana,gets partymen freed

The puja is controlled and managed by Jagannath Sau,a close associate of one of Mamata’s brothers,Baban Banerjee.

The Chittaranjan Cancer Institute and a children’s hospital are located nearby. When the police intervened,the mob started pelting stones and bottles. As the police resorted to a lathicharge,youths tried to set fire to the police station and vehicles parked outside the thana. They also vandalised private cars passing through,forcing the police to make arrests.

News soon reached Banerjee of the puja organisers of Bhowanipore — a majority of whom are Trinamool supporters — clashing with the police as well as the arrests.

In less than an hour,the chief minister landed up at the station,walking all the way from her residence on Harish Chatterjee Street. As officials came to know of her presence,the commissioner of police and the divisional commissioner of police (South Division) rushed to the police station along with others.

According to sources,Tapas Saha and Sambhu Sau were among those who were held for rioting and damaging government and private property,but released at Mamata’s intervention,without a case being registered. Today,however,the police denied anyone was rounded up.

Ratan Malakar,Councillor of Ward No. 73 where the club is located and a Trinamool leader,admitted: “When our appeal to the police failed,Didi intervened and Baban Banerjee also reached the police station.”